Business Reporter
JOHANNESBURG – THE business community, top government officials and non profit organization, gathered at Blue Radisson Blu Gautrain Hotel, in Sandton Johannesburg recently to conclude Women’s Month in style by celebrating the country’s Techno Girls.
The Techno Girls progamme, was born out of the realisation that South Africa is not churning out enough graduates in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and those mostly affected are students from rural schools and the girl child in particular.
The concept, which was initially piloted in 2004 and is run by Uweso Consulting (as the implementing partner,) which in turns works in partnership with the Department of Education, UNICEF, the State Information Technology Agency, identifies girls from households which have an income of less than R 5 000.
“This done as they enter Grade 9, because that is the level at which they choose the subjects, they want to do for Matric and then they are placed in participating companies, and every school holiday they are placed for job shadowing,” explains Oweso Consulting CEO Staff Sithole in her presentation to the about 100 company CEO’s that were at the colourful event.
“The programme encourages girls from disadvantaged backgrounds to pursue careers in these fields by giving them first hand, real world experience, to ensure that girls have an equal opportunity to excel in the fields that the economy requires, they need to be guided regarding tertiary education, while still at school,” says Sithole.
There are two components to the Techno Girl programme, which are Job Shadowing and Alumni, where from Grade 12 onwards, the girls get support to carry on with their studies and to get jobs in their chosen careers.
The programme, which is run in all the country’s nine provinces is mean’t to equip the girls with knowledge and understanding of how the world work, how to behave in the workplace, give them an awareness of job outputs, and an increased knowhow of planning for their future studies and careers.
“We also mentor them to allow them to overcome personal challenges and create support cells, by building their confidence and skills, while linking what they would have learn’t at school to the world of work, ”says Sithole.
Some of the participating companies ACSA, Eskom, IDC, Johnson and Johnson, Discovery among many others. A few other companies also pledged job placements for girls in the programme at the function, which was also attended by deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa’s wife, Dr Tshepo Motsepe.
According to a pamphlet handed out at the function, the programme has so far benefitted more than 9 000 girls.
In delivering the opening speech, Gauteng Education MEC, Panyaza Lesufi, who attracted a loud round of applause for the active role he has taken in sorting out racism issues in schools, was the first to underline the importance of educating girls.
“These girls are our gold, as the country faces a lot of challenges, such as possible downgrades and increasing unemployment. Remember tears and sweat both taste bitter but from sweat you will get permanent results,” says Lesufi, who was also addressing the dozens of Techno Girls who were also at the function.
Three Techno Girls also addressed the gathering outlining how the programme had helped them.
Minister in the Presidency Responsible for Women, Susan Shabangu, who delivered the keynote speech, also weighed in on the importance of educating girls in technical fields adding that the country was being forced to “import” skills from other countries especially geologists and engineers.
“We would like to encourage our girls into this space but not end at the belly but be CEO’s on be in managerial position,” says Shabangu.
“We also wouldn’t want their role ( girls) to be compromised because they play other roles as women such as being mothers, and therefore lets not be apologetic as women but be assertive,” says Shabangu.
– Guardian
